My first love was military history – learnt at the knee of my father who served in the trenches of the Western Front (WW1). The long and extreme bloody battle of Verdun profoundly moves me. While other great WW1 battles were mostly a joint effort by allies fighting the Germans, Verdun was an entirely French effort. Verdun was more than a defensive response to an attack upon a city. It was the response of an army, a people, a nation inspired by the huge effort to keep Germans at bay. Verdun is symbolized by General Nivelle’s immortal words “They Shall Not Pass” an unequivocal stance – a call from the heart. It was close to a year of bloody battle - but they did not pass.